Posted at 12:55 p.m., Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Business briefs: Hawaii tops in check card use
Advertiser Staff and News Services
The use of check cards in Hawaii is growing at the fastest rate of all 50 states, according to a report by Visa USA.In the last year, check card usage has risen 41 percent, with volume of spending reaching a state record $141 million, according to Visa. The bulk of the transactions, 41 percent, were in the retail sector. Tourism and entertainment accounted for 18 percent of the spending; restaurants, 13 percent; and petroleum products, 12 percent.
Fairmont Hotels posts 48 percent drop in profits
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. posted a 48 percent drop in quarterly profit and lowered its 2005 earnings forecast because of a decline in tourists to resorts in Bermuda and Mexico. The stock had its biggest fall in almost 2 1/2 years.
Net income in the third quarter fell to $69 million, or 92 cents a share, from $131.8 million, or $1.66. Revenue rose 16 percent to $240.1 million, the Toronto-based company said today in a statement. In July 2004, the company sold the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui hotel in Hawaii to Host Marriott Corp. for $355 million.
